


We are Infinity

by Writer156



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), youtube - Fandom
Genre: 2012x2015, 2015x2012, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Character Death, Dan is an awkward squish, Dani needs a hug, Female Dan, Female Phil, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Mild Language, Phan - Freeform, it's complicated - Freeform, kickthestickz is really only one chapter but I thought it was cute, not too much angst I hope, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2018-07-13 23:36:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 10,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7143002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer156/pseuds/Writer156
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Okay, so I didn't mean to fall through a portal to another reality. It kind of just happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dan 1

"Bye." My Winnie the Pooh voice still makes me cringe after all these years, listening to it through headphones. It was a couple of days ago that we got back from tour, and I had just finished editing a stack of videos to post on my channel. Videos filmed in hotel rooms, backstage, even some from before the tour started in my room. Jeez it's not like me to be organised like this. But I really don't want to disappoint the fans.  
Fans. And I'm not meaning the electric ones. Phil and I, we have admirers. Tumblr followers, YouTube subscribers, in their millions supporting us and what we do. It's honestly incredible. 

A flashing notification glared brightly in the dark lighting. 10% battery! It screamed across the screen. I sighed.  
"Phil can you get me my charger?" Silence. He must be editing too. "Phil?" 

"Get it yourself you lazy, uh, thing!" Phil yelled back. I rolled my eyes, even though I knew he could not see. Phil and insults were never a good combination. 

I flopped out of my nest and headed to the lounge to find my charger, laptop in arm. Why was I even editing on my laptop anyway? The tour must've messed me up a little. I creep my way down the dreaded dark hallway. Oh god it's even gusting spookily. Not cool not cool. 

Stomp. Stomp. What the hell? "Phil?" I shouted. "Phil what was that?" 

"What was what?" A muffled noise came from his bedroom. 

"That stomping noise, what was that?" 

"What stomping noise?"

"Look, never mind." I sighed in exasperation. 

"What?" 

"I said-" 

Suddenly a large quake shook the whole flat, so much that I nearly fell on my face. 

"PHIL?!" 

A flash later, there was silence. I dusted myself off, picked up my laptop and continued into the lounge.  
It was when I picked up the charger that I noticed something was off. Glancing around the room, it was almost barren except for the couch and multiple boxes strewn over the floor. When did this happen? Is Phil moving out? My face went cold.  
"Phil?" I rushed to his room to find it empty. How? He was just there a second ago. This couldn't be. 

"Where are you?" I ran, well, jogged, into the lounge again but he was nowhere to be found.  
Suddenly I heard a large clank coming from the kitchen. Someone's hiding. 

"I know you're in here, don't make me come after you." I crept into the kitchen quietly. It seemed to be empty but I knew someone was waiting. "Phil?!"  
I heard a rustling noise behind me, I knew something was up. I was about to turn around and then- 

Bang. 

In the blur I saw a figure with dark brown hair dressed in black, and then it all faded to that colour.


	2. Phil 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 from Phil's perspective. Also extra things because why the hell not.  
> I don't know how to do summaries I'm new to this

"Get it yourself you lazy, uh, thing!" I called out through the door. I could almost imagine him rolling his eyes and face-palming while stomping towards the living room. Honestly, so dramatic. There was peaceful silence for a couple of seconds, but then Dan spoke up. 

"Phil what was that?" 

"What was what?" I yelled. 

"That stomping noise, what was that?" Stomping noise? 

"What stomping noise?"

"Look, nevrminget."

"What?" Dan, how many times have I told you not to mumble? I could hear a quiet sigh coming from the hallway. 

"I said-" 

Suddenly the ground started shaking beneath my feet. I jumped out of my seat in shock. Awkwardly scrambling for a hiding spot, I flopped onto my bed and hid under the pillows until the shaking stopped. Lying there for a couple of seconds in panic, it was then I realised a certain someone would have had nowhere to hide. 

"DAN?!" I flipped off the bed and tore open the door.  
"Dan where are you?!" I scanned the corridor. No answer, and no Dan in sight. He must've run back to his room or to the lounge. I'm not surprised, I would've too. Odd though he didn't answer. I hope he's alright.  
I plodded my way back to my desk, put my headphones back on and started editing. 

Suddenly there was a blinding flash, and a large thump. I spun around just in time to see something that can only be described as a portal close up my wall, and someone lying face first on my floor. 

Well I must be dreaming or stuck in an anime. I would accept both theories. 

I crept over to the body, unsure whether or not they would respond. They appeared to be female, with black hair and pale skin like mine. I rolled her over so she would at least be able to breathe properly, and checked her pulse. Alive. Thank goodness. It would be a bit awkward if she wasn't, I mean, what am I supposed to do with a dead body? 

Well that went off on a tangent Phil. Come on, think clearly. Dan would say that. I wonder where he is? He would've heard the commotion and come to look by now. He said he was going to be in the lounge didn't he?  
I didn't have much time to think about this, because the heap at my feet started stirring. She grumbled quietly, picking herself up before noticing her surroundings. 

"Where am I?" The lady looked up at me in fright, with familiar bright blue eyes. She looked quite a bit like me actually, apart from the whole gender thing. I cleared my throat. 

"Hi, I'm Phil. I don't know who you are but something happened and you fell through my wall. Care for a glass of water?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm 90% sure that's what Phil would do if this ever happened. The other 10% thinks he'd just flip out. But wouldn't we all?


	3. Dan 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan wakes up in a sticky situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a bit, just got out of my exams but hopefully I will update more frequently now!

I woke up alone on the couch with a bag of ice on my head. What happened last night? I don't remember drinking, what did I do to- 

Oh. That's what happened. 

I tried to stand but a wave of dizziness swept through my body and I collapsed back into the sofa crease. You know what who needs walking? I'm at home and safe, and if whoever knocked me out wants to talk or something they can come to me. 

As if they were reading my thoughts, the door swung open and there stood the figure I saw in my haze. They were female, apparently, with dark brown hair and darker clothes, and she was holding a frying pan in one hand. She looked me up and down, but I could tell didn't want to get closer than she needed to be.  
"Who are you?" I asked. She looked a bit taken aback by this, but quickly returned to the stone face she had before. 

"You shouldn't be here." 

"I'd say the same to you. Why should I not be in my house?" 

Again, the stoned expression cracked a little from her face.  
"Your house? This is my place, Phil and I," She paused. "I've just moved in."  
I ignored the hurt on her face when she said Phil's name. 

"Well maybe Phil can talk some sense into this because we've been in this house for three years now. And why do you have my laptop!" 

She'd just put down the frying pan and picked up the MacBook from a pile of boxes. Looking down at it in confusion, she gripped it tightly in her arms.  
"This is my laptop!"

"Oh really? It just happens to have the same stickers in the same order and the same crack in the corner of the screen does it? Just like mine?" I stomped over to her and snatched it from her grasp. "See, it even has my initials: DH, Daniel Howell."

She looked at me like I'd just killed someone. The girl took a step back, knocking into the cardboard stand, sending herself and boxes flying. It would've been funny if it weren't for the tension in the air. 

Eventually she clambered up, albeit shakily.  
"Daniel Howell?" She almost seemed scared saying my name. 

"Yeah, that's my name, Dan Howell." 

Her mouth gaped open as she turned away from my gaze.  
"Impossible. The drive at Frostero," She started wheezing, gasping for air. "I had no idea..." 

"What the hell are you on about?"  
Instantly the girl tensed up and looked me dead in the eye, a sense of determination accompanying her fear. She was quivering no more.

"What month and year do you think this is?" I tried to stifle a laugh. 

"You're kidding, right?" 

"Answer the damn question."

"Or what?" 

"Just do it."

Shia LaBeouf immediately springs to mind, but I push those thoughts away. I cleared my throat.  
"November 2015."

"Well you're in for a bit of a shock then. Take off three years."  
My jaw dropped.

"No, that's impossible. You've got to be joking. This has to be some sort of setup." I scan my eyes around the room, trying to find some sort of hidden camera or microphone that might lead to an illusion, but there was nothing. "Where's Phil? He must be behind this." Now it was her turn to be shocked. 

"Well you won't find HIM here, because the Phil I live with is a woman." She tossed me a photograph. It looked like some of the early Dan and Phil merch we had, but instead of us there were two females dressed exactly like us. A girl with black hair and blue eyes and...  
And the brunette standing in front of me. 

"My name's Danielle Howell. Of Dani and Phil." She kneeled down close to my face. "If what you're saying is true, I believe you're in the wrong universe."


	4. Phil 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil needs a bit of explanation.

"So, you're from an alternate timeline where both Dan and I were born girls instead of boys."

"That's right."

"And you don't know how you got here."

We were sitting up on my bed drinking coffee I'd made, trying to get some sense into this situation. Apparently, the woman currently cuddling my lion plushie was me from an alternate universe! Who'd thought of that?! 

"Well I was walking around the house looking for some cereal to eat, I leaned up against the wall for a second-" 

"Fell through my wall."

"Fell through your wall..." She took her time with those words. "And when I woke up I was in what looked like my room except I knew it wasn't because it was a lot cleaner. And then I saw you." She looked at me expectantly, waiting in anticipation for a reply. Surely this can't be true. Logically, it isn't. But... 

"Okay, so what do we do now?"

She looked shocked. "Wait. You actually believe me?" Well that's a good sign. 

"Your story doesn't make sense, but with the stuff I've already seen this is probably a dream or an anime or something. And they do crazy stuff, so I'll go along with it." 

"Um... Okay then." 

"When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"Alright Sherlock." She smiled. "Oh can you tell me what happens after The Reichenbach Fall I'm suffering from a Sherlock induced state of panic."

"Hmm, I went through the two year wait I'm sure you can survive it too." She pouted.

"You're so mean!" I laughed. 

"So you're really me from an alternate universe?" 

She studied my expression. "It appears so. I take it since your roommate has not come in yet he has disappeared and entered my universe." 

"So Dan's gonna meet his female self." 

"Good luck to him. Dani hates unexpected guests, my bet is she'll either stare at him awkwardly and hide, or knock him out with a frying pan." She chuckled. 

"Let's hope it's the first option." I grinned. It was so odd. We were exactly the same, but we were different too. Besides the gender swap. I cleared my throat. 

"So, Philippa…" 

"Please, call me Phil." 

"Yeah but I'm Phil."

"No you're Phillip." 

"But no one calls me that!"

"Well no one calls me Philippa. I've always been Phil."

"This is going to get confusing." I groaned.


	5. Dan 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan gets a little explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, sorry I haven't been updating this as much as I should, I've got most of the story written but some parts have evaded me, including chapters eight and ten, (the Phil's are really hard to write for some reason) so I may spend a while on those. Just warning you.

"The wrong universe?!" I squeaked, startling my counterpart. "How the hell?! I mean..." I was lost for words. Dani sighed. 

"It's a lot to take in isn't it?" I got up and paced around the room. 

"But, I didn't, I didn't try to, I just walked around my house!" 

"Portals have been appearing all over these past weeks. The government's not sure why they only seem to be located in London, but I guess it's good they're so isolated." She plonked into my, her, sofa crease. 

"They've normally been too small to bother anyone." She continued. "I've found a Rubix cube I didn't own, and lost a couple of socks, but this," she gestured towards me. "This has never happened before. I thought the portals only worked between two distances in space, not in time and through other universes." 

"So how did this start?" I crashed next to her. "And what do we do?"  
It felt odd not sitting in my sofa crease. It felt even more odd seeing someone else slouching in my spot. 

"I'm not sure if there's much we can do. The portals appear out of nowhere and at random intervals." 

"So it's hopeless then." I slumped further into the couch. What if I never get home? What if I'm stuck here forever, three years in the past in a world where I already exist? And Phil, I'll never see my best friend again. 

"Maybe not." I shot up at once.

"What? What is it?" 

"There's this shop called Frostero that Phil and I visit occasionally, that mainly specialises in sci-fi and the supernatural. Two weeks ago we went in to find most of the store shut down. When we asked the manager what was going on and he said the 'Ultimate Reality Gaming Suite has been closed due to an overflow of Substitute Totality Data.' STD he called it. While we facepalmed at the choice of acronym he got security to usher us out of the store."  
I bit my lip to hold back a snicker. 

"So... What does that mean exactly?" 

"The UR Suite transfers a person's consciousness into the artificial reality of the game. You are completely submerged in the world of the game while your body's at rest. It's like the total immersion video games from Red Dwarf. When there's an overflow..." She gasped. "Maybe it causes the portals." 

"But..." I was in awe. "That's all science fiction. It doesn't exist!" 

"Maybe in your universe." She jumped up from the couch and offered me her hand. "Come on. I'll show you the place."


	6. Phil 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cereal discussions between Phillip and Philippa. I have no idea either.

"And that's when I discovered my lactose intolerance." 

"Woah. So should I just avoid dairy from now on?" 

"Who knows? Maybe you don't have it."

We'd drifted from the bed to the kitchen to get some snacks. Philippa was munching on some Cheerios and had just asked me where the milk was. 

"I mean, we still get milk for baking videos and such, but yeah, we must be out sorry." 

"That's fine. So you still do baking videos?" 

"For special occasions like Easter and Halloween." I grabbed Dan's favourite cereal and poured myself a bowl. I half expected him to come in and tell me off, but of course he wasn't going to. This put a damper on the situation, but hey, I'm sure I'll get told off when he gets back. "Almond milk?" I offered to my companion. 

"Oh no." She took a step back and shook her head. "Nut allergy. Can't." 

"You're allergic to nuts?" 

"Yeah. It's not deathly, but I didn't really like nuts to begin with, so the allergy kinda just added to my excuse to avoid them." 

"Fair enough." I plopped maybe too much nut juice in my cereal. (That came out wrong. Dammit that came... Never mind.) 

"So what else is different around here?" Philippa asked. "Who are your friends?" 

"Well there's Dan, obviously. PJ, Chris, Tyler, Felix, Marzia, Louise, Cat..." 

"Oh yeah, they're cool. But who's Felix and Marzia again?" 

I stared at her blankly. "You know, PewDiePie? Marziapie?" 

"Oh, right. Yeah sorry. Not really familiar with Pewds." 

"That's cool." I smiled. "When you get back you should message them." 

"IF I get back." The smile diminished on her lips. 

"Not if. You're gonna get back, I know it." 

"How can you're so sure? I mean do you know any way I could?"

"Anything is possible in your dreams." She cocked her head in confusion, and then proceeded to pinch the both of us. 

"Aey!" 

"This seams pretty real to me." She shuffled her feet and gazed up like a puppy. Her diamond eyes glistened behind a floppy side fringe, and pieces of matching shoulder length charcoal hair. She'd be at least average height, most likely over that, but still shorter than me so when talking to those taller her attention would forever be directed upwards, her facial features front and centre of their view. I can see why Dan goes on about me being adorable.

What are we doing? Oh yeah. I cleared my throat. 

"So what'd you wanna do now?" Philippa asked. 

"Anime and cereal?" 

"Um, not a fan of anime really, it's not something I see myself getting into." I laughed. Oh how sweet and naive I was. 

"How about a Marvel film then?" Her eyes lit up. 

"I haven't seen Avengers Assemble yet, can we watch that?" 

"Sure thing, I'll check on Netflix." 

"The what now?" 

I sighed.


	7. Dan 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Dani enter the UR.

One trip across town, and the glooming doors of Frostero stood before us, creaking in the night air. 

"The quicker we get you back, the better." Dani took something out from her hair, a bobby pin I think, and started fiddling with the lock.

"Oh come on, that's not going to work." 

"Be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate." 

"Why don't you just break the door down? It'll be quicker."

"Try and kick it and you'll break your foot. It's tougher than you think." A soft click, and the door swung open. 

"How did you-" 

"I forget my key a lot."

Inside it looked just like any other geek shop, similar to Forbidden Planet in some ways. My eyes caught sight of the paranormal romance books, but my partner dragged me along before I could get a good chance to laugh at them. Once at the back of the shop she kneeled in front of what appeared to be the cleaners closet, and began work at unpicking the keyhole. 

"Are you sure this is the right door?" I asked. 

"Of course. Do you not trust me, Daniel?" She smirked. 

"Of course not, Danielle." I responded with the same sort of sarcasm. 

"You know there could be anything behind those doors. Monsters, Matt Smith, Loki and his army of intense fangirls..."

"I know exactly what's in there. A mop and a bucket, maybe a vacuum cleaner too." She groaned and went back to the lock. 

"Oh come on, where's your imagination gone? Did you trade it for those good looks of yours?" 

"I left it behind in my universe." I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore Dani's comment. "Come on. Let's get this over with."   
Dani stood back and pulled open the door. I couldn't believe my own eyes. 

Well, you know how the Tardis is bigger on the inside? So is the UR.   
Like David Tennant's Tardis, the UR had orangey brown walls with circular structures on them. The only main difference was instead of one central control panel there were multiple columns with seats surrounding them. It was honestly, quite magnificent. We stopped in our tracks and stood there, staring in awe for what seemed like eternity. 

"Woah." 

"I know right?" 

"So is this the control room?" 

"No, this is only the console room. Follow me." 

All of a sudden a familiar shaking started up again.   
"Oh no." I collapsed on the hard steel floor and lay there as the portal-caused earthquake continued. No wait, now it wasn't shaking so much as just slowly, moving, downwards? 

I managed to stand, not noticing until I was fully upright the old Asian couple staring at me in shock. Dani was nowhere to be found. I tried to look for an escape from such embarrassment, but there was no way out. I was encased in a glass oval, looking out on the city below. Wait a minute. 

Why the hell did I teleport to the London Eye?


	8. Phil 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and Philippa discuss pop culture geekery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna be basically all dialogue, because I couldn't come up with anything good to go in between them. Also uni has just started back, and I figured I have to post something otherwise I'll never get the story done. So, yeah. Here's this.

"So... You enjoy the movie?" 

"Huh? Oh yeah, it was, good."

"Just good?"

"Oh no it was great, don't mind me. Puny God and everything was super funny, but..."

"But what?"

"This might sound strange, but why is Iron Man played by a guy?"

"Wait what? Iron Man's always been a guy, it's kind of in the name." 

"Not where I'm from they're not. Megan Fox's been playing the role for years. Who's this guy? Was that other Sherlock?!"

"Megan Fox is Iron Man?!"

"Movie Sherlock. Slightly less superior but still cool Sherlock. You're telling me he plays Iron Man."

"Well you've just seen the movie so do I need to tell you?"

"Smart ass. Also there needs to be more Science Buds. Or Stony. I'm not sure which one you'd ship more but I love both. Both have been canon in my universe."

"I'm still not getting over the Megan Fox thing. Same person as Transformers Megan Fox? Hey don't you roll your eyes at me!" 

"Yes. Yes it is. End of discussion." 

"Oh, we should take a selfie shouldn't we? I'll get my phone." 

"What's a selfie?" 

"You don't... How do you not know what a selfie is? They became popular like ages ago, like 2013 or something how... Oh yeah, you're from... Right. Putting it simply, a selfie is where you take a picture of yourself, whether it's with an object in the background or just, like a bathroom mirror or something."

"So it's a picture of yourself, taken by yourself?"

"Yep."

"Well that's a bit self-centred isn't it?"

"Trust me. It'll catch on." 

"Okay... Hey why are you laughing?!" 

"Come on let's take one. At least to remember this all by. Your phone or mine?" 

"Hmm, how about both?"

~~~

And so we took selfies for half an hour. Then we found some alcohol and marshmallows in a cupboard. And then we feasted.


	9. Dan 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wandering around the alternate London, Dan finds some familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY there is some kickthestickz. Enjoy.
> 
> Also the next chapter is also going to be from Dan's perspective, so this is just part 1 of chapter 9 basically. Haven't quite finished part 2 yet and it would be a very long chapter compared to the others so that's why I've split them in two. Don't worry, I will make it up with a longer than normal Phil chapter later in this story. Everything will be equal, that I can assure you.

Part 1: 

Of all the places to end up, it had to be around people in an awkward situation didn't it?  
Slowly dying of embarrassment I sat down in the corner of the capsule, averting the gaze of the two tourists. What, never seen a portal jumper from another dimension before? 

Once we eventually got off the Eye I wandered around, trying to make sense in the situation. For a start, how far am I from Frostero? How long will it take me to get there? Will the tube still accept my Oyster card? What date is it anyway? Am I even in the same universe to begin with? I was about to head into the crowded abyss, hoping a wander would ease off an upcoming existential crisis, when two familiar voices caught my attention. 

"Come on Peej we're not going to make it!!!" 

"Chris we have all the time in the world. Don't worry." 

Sure enough when I turned around there were two of my dorktastic friends KickthePJ and Crabstickz, arguing about something I'm sure, don't know what. 

"Trust me I've been living here for a while now, these lines do not get better the longer we wait and if we don't get there soon, we won't get on." 

"It's okay, even if we don't get up the Eye, it won't spoil what we have tonight." I saw the older man smile at his best friend, and embrace him in a hug. 

I decided to check to see what universe I was in by going up to them and saying hi. 

"Oh, hi, there." PJ shuffled his feet while Chris gripped on to his hand. They stared at me blankly, and it was then I figured out they didn't know who I was. Great, so I wasn't back home then. Hopefully I was in the same universe as I was before. 

"Do you want directions to somewhere?" Chris painfully asked. 

"Oh yes, sorry." I mumbled, pulling out a tourist map I stole from the Eye. "You know the way to Frostero from here?"

"Yeah, catch the next tube on the south side of the station, 8th stop you get off." He looked me up and down. "I wouldn't go there though man, heard there's been some portal action down there. I'm staying as far away as possible." 

"I wouldn't mind seeing one of these portals," PJ remarked. "I wonder what it'd be like." 

"It's just a bit frustrating really. The excitement kinda wears off after a while." I chuckled. The duo's mouths dropped open and immediately realising I said too much, I took my chance to leave. 

"Oh well, thanks for that." I gestured my goodbyes and dove into the sea of humans. A couple of seconds later I heard them speak up again. 

"Do you really think that guy..." 

"I don't know, but I'm making a video on this."

"Of course you are." 

I chuckled to myself as I walked to the tube stop. A couple of steps down into the underground however, and I found myself back in the UR suite, a few meters away from a sprawled out Dani.


	10. Dan 5.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding Dani again brings forth many universal differences, and the reveal of a secret.

Part 2: 

"She hates me." 

"What makes you think she hates you?"

After multiple attempts of being shot down, I tried again. I wanted to ask 'Why are you on the floor? What happened? Why are you crying?'. Instead I crawled next to her from where the portal dropped me and placed her hands in mine.  
"You know you can talk to me if something is up. It's okay. I'm hear to listen." 

She propped herself up against a control panel and sighed.  
"You want to know everything?"

"As much as you need to get off your chest."  
I gave her a half smile. 

"Well, this mess all started when Chris and PJ got together."

"Wait WHAT THE FU-?!?!" 

"That..." She seemed rather confused. "That didn't happen for you?"

I nearly choked trying to process all of this. "Well, there was a lot of teasing, and they kind of acted along the lines of being in a relationship, but Peej is straight and even though Chris did sort of like him, that was just them joking around. They're... actually a thing over here?" I set a mental note not to tell the Chris in my universe about this. Not that he'd believe me anyway. I should really get around to contacting him again. 

"Well they're both Bi here. Phil and I set them up when we were in Italy last year. The sexual tension was too much, we had to. Anyway a couple of months ago we all went out for dinner, my treat, Peej said. Kickthestickz was in full affairs and Phil and I were laughing about. I'm not sure if we were flirting, but that's when Chris stupidly suggested..."

"What?" 

"...That we make Phan real."

"Oh." I could feel the embarrassment radiating off my alternate. 

"Precisely he said 'oh go ahead and smooch already you too.'"

"Ah." 

"That was super awkward. After dinner I went over to tell him off and he invited me out on the town. To make up for things, you know. We went to this bar and, I don't remember much after that."

I was intrigued. This never happened to me. I gestured for her to continue. 

"I woke up at home the next day, and apart from a few sentences just when I woke up, Phil refused to talk to me. I don't know what I did." I could see drops starting to form in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and embraced her in a hug. 

"Dani…"

"It doesn't matter." She tried to pulled away. "Phan was really getting out of hand." 

This utterly and totally confused me.  
"But, don't you miss your friend?" I asked. She sighed and nodded.

"She's my stars. Shining brightly from such the distance I put between us. Things are never going to go back to where they were, and it's all my fault. I love her so much, and-" she gasped and immediately shied away. I just stared at her, trying to process what she just confessed. 

"And she just can't see it." Tears began to fall. "I love her and I always will. Even through the times it seemed I didn't care, I did." She tried to push me away but I pulled her into my chest. We just sat there for a few moments, in each other's arms, not caring about anything but keeping each other in our grasp. It was a few minutes before Dani spoke up. 

"Why are you doing this? If you're anything like me," she choked, trying to hold back tears. "You'd just sit there, or walk off, or tell me to suck it up or something." 

"Do you really think I don't care?" I asked. "You know this yourself. We care too much. We don't like to see others get hurt."  
She smiled and began to wipe away droplets with her sleeve. 

"Come here." I hug her tighter as I felt tears dampen my shirt. "It's okay, let it out." 

"I don't know what to do." She whimpered. 

"You'll figure it out. I know I did." 

At those words she tensed up and retreated into herself.  
"Sorry, I'm not sure what that was." She tried to get up but I held her still for a moment and looked her in the eye. 

"Are you-"

"Of course I'm fine, let go of me." She pushed me away, brushing herself off as she stood. She refused to meet my eye and her stone guard had returned, sealing off all emotion. It frightened me to think I was like this three years ago. Was I? It seemed like such a long time. I didn't speak up though. 

"Come on Danny boy lets get you home." She strutted towards the end of the hall. However I head her whisper under her breath;  
"He's too much like Phil."


	11. Phil 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phillippa took the separation hard too. It was just hidden a little deeper.

"Well, I'd just gotten back from a night out with the Fantastic Foursome." 

Wine bottles were strewn across the floor, surrounding the raven haired girl backed against the wall. She stared at her counterpart with darkened eyes, and I felt fear in her glance and because of it. "Dani had stayed out with Chris to go clubbing so PJ an I decided to hang out and play Mario Kart. That in itself was a mistake, but let's move on from that." She half laughed. I gestured for her to continue, and after some hesitation she did.

"At around 2am Chris and Dani came back with their arms around each shoulders. They were really drunk and while Chris still had some of his senses, Dani was far gone. PJ quickly took him home while I tried to take care of Dani. She was so drunk she couldn't even get a glass of water by herself, it was terrifying. I basically carried her to bed and sang her songs to keep her from fully collapsing on me. I didn't think much of her constant mumbling. But when I was about to leave the room..." She stopped, gasping a little for air. I reached out to her broken glass fortress, but she smacked my hand away. 

"She called my name as I was leaving." My alternate caught her breath. "I almost didn't hear her she was so quiet. I turned back and said 'Yeah Dani?' She excused herself, and I thought it would've been for being drunk so I was about to turn back out the door until she..." On the verge of tears yet again, she shuddered into the wall. "She told me she loved me. And then she apologised for gods sake." 

"I panicked. I, I couldn't face her like that. All this time I had no idea that she felt the same way I did. I was gonna confront her when she was sober, I knew I should've. But I was so scared. After three days she banged down my door and asked if I was okay. She didn't remember a thing." I was shocked. She opened her palm, revealing a sweat covered SD card. 

"I found it in your camera." She snuffled. "What is it, Phil is not on fire 7? You guys look so happy, why can't Dani and I be like that?" 

"You still can be. Be happy, it'll happen." 

"I'm sick of that." She smashed another empty bottle against the wall. "I'm sick of everything. Being happy all the time? Sometimes it's all too much." 

We could've stayed there for hours, just staring at each other, if the phone hadn't rung. 

"Sorry, I should get that." She turned on the screen and her eyes widened. "It's Dani!" She pushed the mobile to her ear. "Omg where are you are you okay?" 

"How would you get service in another dimension?" I wondered. 

"Shut up!" She hissed, turning back to the phone. "No that wasn't for you. Slow down I can't hear you, you're where? Wait what? You're in what?" She paused. "Well you're doing a very good job at wasting time now." Another pause. "Well, hi, first of all. Yes I'll take him with me. But are you sure this is the only way? Hello?" 

She slowly lifted the phone from her ear. "That didn't sound good." 

"What's the matter?" My blood ran cold. "What happened?" 

"We need to go." She shoved away the glass and lunged for the door. 

"Wait what's going on where are we going?" I raced after her, wary of the shards that previously enclosed my companion's spirit. 

"Geek shop." 

"Name?"

"Frostero."

"Never heard of it."

"Didn't think so. Not really a place you advertise. We'll start with where I think it is in my world." She tossed me a coat. "Come on, we're going reality hopping."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the inspiration for this chapter from this prompt: 
> 
> Imagine 2012 Dan coming home really drunk and Phil has to help him do everything, even tasks so simple as getting a glass of water. Dan keeps talking nonsense but Phil doesn’t think much of it. “Phil?” “Yeah Dan?” “I’m sorry,” Phil looks at him blankly. “I really do love you. I’m really sorry.” Dan wakes up the next morning not remembering a word he said to Phil and carries on. Phil stayed in his room for 3 days. -prompt from tumblr user cloudygif 
> 
> I'm not sure if the username is the same because I couldn't find the original post because I saw the prompt over a year ago or something but here is credit for the prompt. Thanks a lot, whoever you are, this really helped the story develop.  
> -Writer156


	12. Dan 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Dani meet their matchmaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: language. There is language. Also randomness and swear words. You have been warned.

The control room was both out of this world and the most stereotypical thing I could've come up with. I've watched too much sci-fi.

It simultaneously seemed to exist and not exist, if that made any sense. Surrounding our solid platform was an infinite cosmos, billions upon billions of blue energy particles, infinitely floating through the multiverse. White strands connected some in pairs; maybe they were people who've met, or different versions of the same person. I wouldn't know. What I did know was two of those blue dots had separated from their pairs and were heading straight towards us.

"Daniel James Howell - Age 24, height 6'3, universe code 59021." A booming voice rattled through my brain as the energy ball penetrated my chest.  
"Danielle Yasi Howell - Age 21, height 5'10, universe code 80532." I saw a flash in the corner of my eye and knew the same happened to my alternate.  
"Welcome to the cosmic multiverse."

"So what, are you God or something?" I asked, still mostly mesmerised by the decor. 

"I control the multiverse and it's inhabitants. My name is irrelevant." 

"Bit of a weird name, can I call you Vant?"

Dani clamped her hands over her mouth and giggled. "I wasn't the only one who thought it!"

"Can you get to the point?" The newly christened 'Vant' sighed. Right, okay. I cleared my throat. 

"Look, I think you made a mistake somewhere. I'm pretty sure that the two of us shouldn't be able to talk to each other."

"I don't make mistakes." They replied bluntly. 

"Well something must've happened I mean-"

"I know what you think you mean. This wasn't a mistake."

If this was the start of my adventure, I would've been confused. But by now I was just annoyed. "I beg your pardon?"

"Sometimes in life we need insight." Vant began, as if explaining the simplest of concepts. "In what better way do we learn and grow than looking at what we were? And hasn't all our biggest fantasies been to ask our future selves what life has for us?" We paused, unsure of what to say next. 

"You have a point." Dani began, "But we’re here now, and we want to know where our friends are." I nodded. 

"Yes, as enlightening as questioning everything I know is, I’d really like to get home. Can you please put things back the way they were?"

A rumbling filled the space, almost a little like laughter. "I wish I could help little ones, but you've reached me at the wrong time. For you, at least."

"What do you mean?" I asked. If the sentient had a face, I swear it would be smiling right now.

"I mean this is my insanity hour, speckles. Now prepare to die."

"WHAT?!" We screeched as the room faded to crimson red. The colour of blood, Dan thought. This is not going to end well. The plasma in our chests began to burst, and other dots screeched to a halt before switching in our direction.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DO?!?!?!?!?!" Dani shrieked.

"HOW WOULD I KNOW?!?!?!?!" I squawked in return.

"There's no escape little dots," they boomed as we took off, dodging the first load of unknown projectiles. We stopped to catch our breath for a minute, as Vant seemed to halt his attacks. 

"Is the universe having an existential crisis?!" Dani huffed.   
I groaned. Just my luck. All I wanted was to edit my YouTube video, and look where it's taken me. I was sick of all this. I was seriously running out of patience. 

"We need help. We can't fight this on our own."

"No, we shouldn’t drag anyone into this."

Something in me snapped at that point. I glared at her, before grasping her by her shirt collar.   
"Just stop with the self sacrifice bullshit! Would you rather die than ask for help?" I growled. Her eyes widened, seeming to be at loss for words. "Thought so." I smirked, releasing my grip on her shirt. "We need more than just ourselves sometimes."

Dani bit her lip. "I’ll call Phil. At least she’s in this mess too."

"Good on you. Now we’ve got to run."

It wasn't like we could do anything else. When you have a insanity ridden god like creature trying to kill you, it's not like you could do much to attack it. After a few minutes however, I was pretty sure that if they wanted us dead, they would've done it by now.  
I was tiring, Vant was teasing, and Dani was screaming profanities into her phone. 

"I'm running away from a death ray God so come in here and save me dammit!" Dani dodged an attack, but was slowing down as well. A new particle headed our way but was luckily intercepted by another. 

"No time to explain okay?" She yelled as one more explosion went off under our feet. I yelped and snatched the phone away. 

"Look this is Dan and we really need your help so come to Frostero and get us out of here! And keep Phil safe!" 

"Well, hi, first of all." A diluted Manchester accent flowed through the speakers. It was so familiar, and yet far from the Phil I knew and loved. I was so captivated I barely noticed Dani waving in panic. 

"Can you-"

"Yes, I'll take him with me. But are you sure this is the-" 

Suddenly all motion stopped. I felt a searing pain flood over my lower back, and everything faded to white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn procrastination and writing courses! Also, DRAMATIC ENDING OMG WHAT'S HAPPENING I DON'T KNOW EVEN THOUGH I DO
> 
> This is probably not the best but at least it's finally up. To the few who read this, thank you for sticking around! Chapters 12 and 13 should be up around the same time because I've already finished chapter 13, (it was one of the first I finished actually, yay for not writing in order!) so yeah. 
> 
> Thank you again, and I'll see you in the next update! -Writer156


	13. Phil 6

We quickly grabbed our coats (Philippa borrowing a smaller coat of mine) and ran towards the tube station. The almost consistent London clouds looked about to burst, but luckily we made it underground before the heavens opened. 

"It shouldn't matter if we go through any other portals as long as we stick together." My counterpart glanced over at my phone, wrapping her arm around mine. "If what we're looking for really is this godlike entity, they might already be onto us. There's no telling what sort of trouble we could get into, or where we'd end up, if we went out on our own." 

I nodded, scanning the vague directions I managed to find online. I was still shaken up from the action before, and everything was moving so fast I was struggling to find sense in our current situation. We're we going to ignore the broken glass and staining liquids?  
And what happened in that phone call? 

"Philippa?"

"What?" 

"I get what you said."

She looked at me blankly. "What do you mean?"

So we're playing that game, huh? "I get why you'd say that happiness is too much sometimes." Her mouth dropped open. 

"Why are you-"

"Everyone goes through rough patches. Even Dan and I. We're not perfect people, no one is. We've made mistakes we regret, and we're still learning from each other today. That's normal in any sort of relationship."

"But the footage..."

"Is us now. It took a long while to get comfortable with what we are today." I glanced around the carriage, looking for anyone who might benefit from the conversation. Finding them all self absorbed, I turned back to my companion. "My Dan went through a stage around this time where he didn't even want to be associated with me. We started to gain a larger following, and he thought that Phan wouldn't be accepted in the public eye. So he cut me off as much as he could."

My companion stared in horror. "That's awful!"

"Those months were some of the toughest I've ever experienced. It hurt me, physically and mentally. But we've recovered. And I'm sure if you and Dani are anything like us, you'll recover too."

"You're such an optimist, it hurts." A false laugh covered her face. "This is strange, I'm not used to talking about my feelings." 

"I think I know the answer already, but why haven't you spoken up about this?" 

Philippa sighed. "People already noticed Dani was falling apart. One of us had to be strong." 

"Phil, there are bound to be people in your world who care about you, and want to see you happy. And I'm positive if you talked to them about things you're having trouble with, they wouldn't mind. And if they don't, then they're not worth your time. Friends don't rip on other friends."  
"As for now," I continued, "I'm here. And I really don't mind. And you know what, I'm with you till the end of the line." She smiled. 

"Thanks. I get the feeling that was a reference for something though." 

"Partially, yeah." I grinned back. 

I knew it wouldn't fix deeper issues at hand, but with the amount of time we had I knew it was all I could do. We stepped onto the platform arm in arm and ready to face a battle. Dan, I'm coming for you.


	14. Dan 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important discussion awaits him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to spoil anything, and I have no idea if this'll trigger anything or make people sad, but to be on the safe side, I'm warning you now. This chapter is very essential to the remaining plot, so I'm giving you a heads up. Hope you enjoy it!

What the bloody hell was that? 

I should be dead, right? That's the only logical explanation. I opened my eyes to the same vortex as before, but with no sign of my alternate. That's when I realised I was floating.  
I'm not complaining about this, oh no, I'm happy to be alright. Just it's not so great when you look down at what you thought would be ground and it turns out to be the endless void of spacetime. You get a bit of a shock, I'm sure you'd understand. 

"Welcome back online 59021." My eyes widened and darted around. There was nobody near. 

"Who are you?" I stuttered.

"Isn't it obvious?" The voice started up again. It wasn't Vant, I knew that much, but it did sound familiarly daunting, even if I couldn't quite place it. 

"Well, no, actually." 

I heard a sigh coming from my right side. "Why am I not surprised?" I turned to see a ghostly figure come into view, and I gasped. 

It was me. Well, almost. They didn't quite look like any gender, and I figured it would've been too awkward for me to ask or assume. They looked stronger, older in the face maybe, and- 

"You have my 2011 hair." 

"Really? That's what you go for first?" They huff, blowing a chunk of their hazelnut mop out of their face. 

"You're me?" 

"Well you're me. I'm Dan Alpha, from the first universe in existence." They poked me with their stick. "Oh and you're welcome for saving your soul by the way." 

"Thanks..." I muttered, pushing away the branch. "Where's Dani? You know if she's safe?" 

"Dani..." 

"You know, me, uh, us. The woman I came in with..." I trailed on to a more and more clueless Alpha. "Um, I think her code was 805... something, something?" 

"80532? Oh yeah, she's fine. About to start talking to some people now I think. Clever that one, she knew what to do about, Vant." They floundered overs the name. 

"Aha. And, what's happened to Vant the God of existential crisis?" 

"Oh they go on psychotic rampages nearly every month now, it's sort of become routine. I mean seriously, with all the knowledge of the multiverse at their metaphorical fingertips, you can forgive them for going a little insane every few weeks. Next time just turn them off and on again like 80532 did." They shrugged. 

"Okay... Why don't you call us by our names?" 

"Do you know how many parallel universes there are? How many me's to keep track of?" 

"You have a point. But naming would be easier wouldn't it?" 

"Not if you count the different genders and name variants and in some universes we aren't even called Dan. It's a nightmare. And besides, numbers help me keep less, attached." They struggled with their words. "Let's just say caring too much about people when you're in charge of the fates of billions of soul variants isn't the best for day to day work." 

"So I'm no more than data to you?" 

"To anyone now, unfortunately." 

"What do you mean? And when can I get home?" 

Alpha Dan bit their lip.  
"You can't." 

My spirit shattered into 1000's of pieces. 

"You what?! I thought you said you saved my life?" I gasped for air. This can't be happening, it can't. It shouldn't be happening.

"I said I rescued your soul. There were some, consequences. Your physical form was atomised before I could get to it. In here, you can exist, but without a physical form..." They sighed. "I'm sorry 59021." 

"No you're not!" I fell to my knees. "And I'm not 590-something stupid; I'm Dan!" I curled up in a ball, wishing and hoping this was all a dream, that I'd wake up in a moment, Phil would be making pancakes and we'd watch anime on the couch curled up together, but nothing happened. 

So this is where my life lead me. A fate worse than death in a realm of dismissive godlike creatures in constant crisis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! You might have picked this up from some of the previous chapters but someone's dead and it's not Phil! 
> 
> I'm going to write part 1 and 2 of Phil's perspective, and maybe an epilogue, and that'll be it! I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have writing it. I don't know when the next update will be, but I'll make sure to finish this story. I'm not giving up so close to the end. 
> 
> I guess I'll see you in the next update! 
> 
> -Writer156


	15. Phil 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most is revealed on Phil's behalf. And it gets angsty.

Part 1: 

If anyone asked how I felt in those moments, I'd say it was all clouded with adrenaline. The room glowed and shook like a crystal jelly, and immediately I went into overdrive. I wanted to run, hide away from the chaos, when my double lurched across the room, pushing us both out of the way of incoming fire. 

Everything seemed a blur from then. I knew afterwards there was a loud boom and a disembodied voice rang out through the room reciting some familiar names and unknown numbers. I remember running for my life in tow of Philippa, but I didn't see the third figure slashing at the growling air. Survival instinct reigned supreme, and I believed that was the only thing that saved us when the room's shaking reached crescendo. There was only just enough time for us to hide as a final shriek filled the cosmos, and there was silence. 

We stood up in shock as the room faded from fiery red to a muted purple.

"You took your time." Sardonic words sliced through the air. We finally focused on our hero, a messy haired brunette in the colours of death. 

"Dani!" Philippa sprinted towards the stranger and flung herself into her arms. I could see her tense, but then relax into the hug her friend gave. 

"I'm here Phil. I'm here." She whispered. She spied me over her friend's shoulder, and released herself from the hug.   
"You must be Phillip." She stuck out her hand. "Danielle, nice to meet you." 

"You too." I gave her a smile. "So what happened?" 

"Our multiversal overlord had a mental breakdown and tried to kill us. I think I managed to find some kind of control switch to reboot them or something, I mean everything seems alright now." She laughed to herself as the room faded yet again to almost look like a sapphire. Philippa and I glanced at each other, and then stared at the unaware Dani in amazement and shock. "Man this is crap. If this is what controls our world, no wonder bad things happen." She snorted. It was about then she noticed our gaping stares. 

"…What?" 

"Dani, you turned all of existence off and on again." 

"Well when you put it that way..." 

"Would that reboot all of the different universes too?"

"I have no fucking clue." 

As nice of a reunion this was, I still noticed there was one vital person missing.

"Where's Dan?" I asked. 

Dani's face dropped, guilt flashing in hazel eyes before being obscured by her fringe. I started to panic.

"What happened to him?" 

"I'm right here." 

And like a movie cliche, he was. His leather jacket was torn, he had stardust on his cheeks and his entire body radiated with a brilliant blue light. I rushed over to him, but I just couldn't jump into his arms like my alternate had with hers. I was in awe of him. Even seemingly beaten down and washed out from the shine, he hadn't lost the fiery touch from his eyes.   
He looked like an angel. 

"You're glowing." 

"I'm aware." 

"What happened to you Dan?" I already had an idea, but I had to hear him say it.   
He couldn't meet my eyes. I took his hand in mine, softly rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. I knew he'd speak eventually. It would just take time. 

"God, why is it so hard to say." Tears formed in the eyes I knew so well. 

"Dan…"

"I'm dead Phil. How fucking ironic." 

It wasn't like I didn't see it coming, but even so it broke my heart. I let his head fall to the crook of my neck as we collapsed on the pixilated floor. 

"I'm sorry." He whimpered. I shook my head, droplets developing in my own eyes.

"I should've got here sooner. I'm sorry…" 

There were a lot of things unsaid in that moment. The plans that we'd made, both together and by ourselves, regarding our life together. We both knew we wanted to go on tour for our book and had intended to go, but with my angel wrapped in my arms I just couldn't care about that.   
"It…" It wasn't meant to be this way. We were going to move out of our crappy apartment into a house of our own, adopt a dog or two and get so many houseplants, and Dan would've protested but overall we wouldn't have cared because it would've been our home. We'd travel the world, settle down, maybe get married if we wanted to, and, and…

"Phil…"

"I was gonna die first. Not for anything to do with fanfics or age or anything, but because I can't live a day without you."   
For a while there was only the sound of our tears dripping down our faces, until-

"Nope, not happening. No fucking way are you two gonna part like that." Dani's fists were clenched as she stormed over to us. "Get up, we're fixing this."

"How?" Dan asked. 

She yanked him to his feet and dragged Dan away by the ear. 

"What the hell are you doing?!" 

"While fighting Vant I spotted something I think could help. It's a body swap machine, if I've interpreted it right." She lead us all to the contraption. "It'll give you a physical form, but it means you'll be switched and in the body of one of your alternates."

"So we'd need another Dan from a parallel universe to give up their life for your Dan's." Philippa finished with a sense of determination. 

"Not sure I understand, but it's very plot convenient." I replied. 

"I could search for a soul database inside the main process unit," my alternate began, flipping through her smartphone. "There's bound to be a way we can-"

"No need for that." The brunette spoke. "I'll do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for leaving you on a cliffhanger for four months, I apologise for this shitty chapter, I kind of apologise for leaving you on a second cliffhanger. At least they aren't hanging off any literal cliffs, that was an option (I'm still not over it Rick Riordan!!!!!!) Luckily for all of us the second half of this chapter will be the last one, and I've already done the epilogue so that won't be out too much later than the last bit of this chapter. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who reads this, I'm grateful for every single one of you, if it weren't for you guys this would just be an abandoned idea in my drafts. Thank you so much. 
> 
> -Writer156


	16. Phil 7.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil (and the plot) round everything up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a rush, and probably isn't that great, but I thought I'd finally get this story done. Should have the epilogue edited and out tomorrow or the next day. Thank you, if anyone who had the patience to stick with me on this, you deserve a medal for that because honestly I wouldn't have stuck around if I was in your shoes. 
> 
> Anyway, onto the story. Hope you enjoy!

Part 2:  
The revelation didn't truly hit me until I saw my double's phone fall from her grasp, and she and Dan explode simultaneously.  
"Dani no!"  
"No way, you're not doing this for me."  
"A little cosmetic surgery and not even our mother could tell us apart. Sure I'm shorter but if you're sitting most of the time no one will ever know."  
Dan gaped.  
"Dani, you can't be serious about-"  
"You deserve your life Daniel. I mean look at you. You've got everything you've ever dreamed of, if not more." She paced over to him, tilting his head to look her in the eye. "If you can honestly tell me you'd rather be dead and gone than alive with your love, then I won't do it."  
I saw his mouth open in an attempt to speak, and then close again in resignation. I guess he figured it'd be pointless.  
"Thought so." A weak smile fluttered over her lips. "Are we done then?"  
"Dani..." Philippa stuttered, as the brunette turned to her friend. "I… Why?"  
"What? It's the right thing to do, Phil. It's not like I've got anything that needs me back home."

My mouth dropped open. Oh crap. That was not a good thing to say. My double’s icy eyes flared up in anger.  
"Excuse me?"  
"Okay guys," I jumped in between the two girls. "No need for all this. We can think of another plan."  
"I'm right here. Get it over with." Dani continued, refusing to look her friend in the eye.  
"How dare you Dani?" She screeched, making all of us jump. "How dare you think you can give up your life and everyone won't give a damn? Do you think so little of us? And of yourself?"  
At least Dani had the decency to look guilty. "It's for the best Phil. They can be happy." She sighed regrettably. Dan and I watched as Philippa took her hand and squeezed it gently.  
"There’s got to be another way. I’m sorry, but I can’t lose you."  
"I…" The brunette choked, a few tears rolling down her face. "I thought you hated me. After the bar thing I-"  
"No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I made you feel like this." Dani reached forward and burrowed into Philippa’s chest. I couldn’t hear what she said next, but it was enough for my double to wrap her arms around her tighter.  
"I’m sorry. I know I’d lose my shit if I ever hurt the one I love again."

That remark was enough to snap us all out of our haze. Dani recoiled in shock, and Dan and I couldn’t do anything but stare as my double realised the magnitude of what she just said.  
"You... swore." Dani gaped.  
Dan groaned. "Really? That’s what you pick up on?"  
Philippa was still almost frozen, but her eyes were filled with panic. "I... I know you don't feel the same," she began to ramble, "and I'm sorry that slipped out at a time like this but I don't want you t-"  
I breathed a sigh of relief as Dani ran back over to her friend and kissed her hard on the lips.  
"About time too." I chuckled to myself.  
A warm hand slithered into mine and held on tight. I smiled up at my partner and pecked his cheek.  
"Hey come on, if that's my last kiss from you I'm seriously disappointed." He smiled sarcastically. 

"I don't think you need to worry about that."  
The girls pulled apart and we all turned towards the strange voice. Dan’s eyes widened in recognition.  
"So you're back."  
The stranger sighed. "I'm gonna get in so much trouble, but you were right. We care too much." They stepped closer into view, and I could finally get a look at the metal clad creature. They were humanoid, which was reassuring, and had warm brown eyes and a familiar smirk on his lips. Dan gave them a small smile, before gesturing to the rest of us.  
"Everyone, this is Dan Alpha. You know who we all are."  
Dani looked the stranger up and down and licked her lips. "Damn I look hot in armour."  
They flushed and face-palmed. "Okay now I'm not sure I want to help you."  
"Oh come on!" Philippa smacked Dani over the head.  
"Thank you Phil 80532."  
"Say what?"  
"Never mind." They sighed. I quickly changed the subject. 

"So you can bring Dan back?"  
"Not in the way you think. Dan 80532 is right; we have to use a soul transfer machine in order to find a physical form. I had to look beyond us, and into the multiverse, to find someone willing to take this Dan’s place."  
"How many universes are there?" I asked curiously.  
"All sorts, Phil 59021. Zombie worlds, timelines pushed back 500 years, different genders, as you have found out. There’s even one where this entire scenario was made up by a bored teenage girl struggling with serious writers block and lack of motivation."  
"Man wouldn’t that universe be weird?"  
"Phil, stop breaking the fourth wall."  
"Sorry." I smiled awkwardly. Dan sighed.

"I think this is where you’re supposed to introduce me?" A figure creeped out from the Alpha’s shadow and Dan’s breath hitched. Standing before us was an almost exact double of my partner.  
The Alpha held out his arm. "Everyone, this is Dan Howell from universe 607."  
He gave a small wave. "Hi. I’m dying inside. Only figuratively, don’t worry." My Dan snorted. So at least their black humour is a constant thing.  
"So, why are you here?" Philippa asked.  
The other Dan’s smile faltered. "Dan Alpha told me about your situation. I’m… really not happy with what I’ve become. I’m a lawyer, and while it’s great to help some people screwed over by the law system, and the pay is pretty great, but I don’t quite feel something’s right. I’m not unhappy, sure. But I’m not always happy either. The only things that made me were YouTube and Phil, but… he’s not here anymore."  
I cleared my throat. "Uh, what happened? I mean-"  
"He’s dead. Very dead. Murdered, if you want to be specific." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Unsolved, too. It’s been a few years, but it still hurts, you know?"  
"So you’re just giving up on life?" Dani whimpered. Oh dear, not good, not good. The other Dan’s eyes widened in shock.  
"Oh no, that’s totally not the reason. I would’ve tried to keep living if it was, even if was only out of spite for everyone else. No, the reason I’m here is because my universe is on the brink of total destruction, and if I’m gonna go out I might as well do it helping someone." We all blinked in stunned silence. The new companion was not even flustered. "What? Nuclear war is not fun, kids."  
"Anyway," Dan Alpha hung his head in his hands. "Can we get on with this? Alpha Phil and I have a games night planned and I’d rather not miss it."  
"Okay fine. We might head off anyway, if we can?" Dani squeezed her partner’s hand.  
"Sure." The warrior banged his stick against the surface, and another portal appeared. "This’ll drop you off just outside Frostero in your universe. You’ll have 3 minutes before it closes. Safe travels, and all the best for your future." They gave the ladies a soft smile. They then passed two small objects to the couple, and headed to the main console with the other Dan. The portal whirled behind us as we watched them go. 

Dan was the first to speak up. "So this is goodbye then."  
"I guess so." Dani replied.  
There was silence for all of a second before Dani ran and almost bowled Dan over in a hug.  
"Jesus Christ." He grumbled, before quickly returning the gesture.  
I had to grin at the sight of my partner embracing his double. I wish I had the chance to get to know her better. She seems like she would be a good friend.  
Speaking of friends, my alternate crept up and grasped my hand.  
"Here." She pulled out a small, multi-cylindered device. "They gave us this, one for each pair. It’s a UNI IP, works like a USB stick. We both stick it in a computer, and it’ll give us a way to talk. At least that’s what they said." I nodded, placing it in my zip pocket. It was strange; it truly felt like there wasn’t much to say.  
"I’m gonna miss you, you know?"  
"I’ll miss you too." I pulled her into a warm hug. "I’ll never forget this. It was an adventure, wasn’t it?"  
"Yes it was." She beamed.  
"Hey, can you promise me something? Regarding all this? Communicate. Talk about your issues. That goes for Dani too. It’s not an all-round fix, but it helps."  
Philippa sighed. "I’ll try. We’re already a little better, so thank you for that."  
I grinned at her. "You would’ve done the same."  
She gave her own soft smile, and padded away.  
When I looked back, Dan and his double were only just separating from their embrace. I can only imagine the kind of conversation the two of them were having.  
Dani took Philippa’s hand, and they waved goodbye. But just as they were about to enter, Dan cried out excitedly, as if he’s just remembered the secret of the universe. 

"Remember Dani, we're Phil Trash Number O-"  
"Oh fuck off." She moaned.  
Philippa and I couldn’t help but laugh.


	17. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Dan brings in the conclusion.

Hooking us up to the machine took a bit of time. The pods were strange, but to be honest by this point I was too tired to give a damn. We could be attaching ourselves to a giant cosmic burrito and I wouldn’t be able to tell. After the switch the two other Dan’s were ready to take off, both eager see their best friend. It’s reassuring to know that no matter how weird the universe is, where there’s a Dan, there’s usually a Phil. Some might call us soulmates, and I might just agree. Before they left, Alpha Dan opened another portal to the Frostero of Earth 59021, and we strode on out. But not before taking a few pictures, of course. 

It was a quiet ride back home on the tube. I guess the adrenaline finally wore off. It was also strange adjusting to the new body. There were a few extra scars, my hair was shorter, but at the same time I was glad for what it was. I kept thinking about that Dan, the one who gave his life to save mine. Before it all went under he told me what it was like to lose his other half, the pain of going home to a house he used to call theirs, or even a sunny day reminding him of his lost love. I swore to myself I would make his sacrifice worthwhile, even if my actions were only small. 

I hope Dani is alright. I hope her Phil holds her tight and never lets her go. I hope they reconcile like Phil and I did. I don't know if they'll be happy, but if what I’ve seen today means anything, I’m sure they’ll be fine. 

As soon as we got home I gave Phil a small kiss and stumbled into my room. This has been too much, I think as I flop onto the checked covers. Tonight I will sleep, then tomorrow we can test out the UNI IP our alternates gave us and I can finally post the videos on my- 

I shot up in desperation. Shit.  
I left my laptop in another universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end! After a year and a half (most of it being me forgetting to update), We Are Infinity is finally finished! Thanks to everyone who has liked and commented on this, I wouldn't have even finished this if it wasn't for you, so thanks.


End file.
